The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in motor home assemblies. In particular, the present invention relates to a novel coupling means or hitch for a motor home assembly.
Conventional motor homes are usually self-contained and although suitable for many purposes, one of the main disadvantages is the fact that the entire unit has to be driven if it is desired to travel locally once a campground or other location has been reached.
This disadvantage of motor homes is only overcome conventionally by towing a small car behind the motor home for use when parked, but this is unsatisfactory and relatively expensive.
Relatively large trailers are often pulled by fifth wheel connections to a cab unit which means that the cab unit can be detached and used locally but this is not a particularly satisfactory solution, as these cab units are often relatively large and they do not provide any storage accommodation when separated from the trailer component.
The present invention overcomes disadvantages inherent with current motor home and large trailer facilities by providing a motor home assembly consisting of a van unit as a tow vehicle and a trailer or motor home unit which, when travelling as one assembly, is close-coupled to the van unit with a rigid connection so that it becomes, in effect, a complete motor home assembly.
When parked, the van component is easily detached and it can be used as a vehicle for local travel, having the storage capacity of a van. It also can be used to tow boats and trailer units therebehind. It will be appreciated that a conventional motor home cannot tow both a small car for local use and a boat and trailer unit at the same time.
Accessibility is maintained because of complete access between the van unit and the motor home unit when connected together. The assembly is easy to drive and handle, and it is comfortable to travel in. Because of the aerodynamic design of the coupled unit, superior gas mileage is obtainable compared to similar sized units.
One object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a motor home assembly comprising in combination a four wheel drive vehicle unit having steerable front wheels and selectively steerable rear wheels, a motor home trailer unit including at least one pair of wheels, and means cooperating between said van unit and said motor home unit to selectively close-couple said units together as one rigid assembly in sealed relationship, one with the other.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a completely versatile motor home assembly which is easily separated into two units, thereby permitting the motor home component or unit to be parked at a permanent site while the towing van unit is available for use as a vehicle which can be used when not connected to the motor home unit, thereby saving the cost and inconvenience of a second vehicle.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a novel hitch or coupling assembly for releasably close-coupling the driven van unit and the motor home trailer unit together as one rigid assembly in sealed relationship, one with the other.
These and other objects of the present invention, as well as the advantages thereof, will become clear to those skilled in the art from the disclosure which follows.